Cancer alert over nitrates in Rocket.

Hello everyone,

There is a warning from the FSA that some Rocket spinach and salad products contain nitrates from fertilisers that exceed safe levels which can be carcinogenic.And Rocket in particular seems to absorb and store nitrates from fertilisers.

Here's an article in todays Daily Mail please see:

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

Nitrates and nitrites are essential elements, but if they form nitrosamines they can be a health threat. Nitrosamines can form if you cook nitrates or nitrites at high heat.

If you buy foods and processed meats in particular with these E no's it's worth remembering to cook them for longer and on a lower temperature to minimise them becoming nitrosamines and a health threat.

Sodium nitrate (E251)

Sodium nitrite (E250)

Potassium nitrate (E252)

Potassium nitrite (E249)

Cooking vegetables does not tend to create nitrosamines as they are cooked at a lower temperature.

FSA research on nitrates in spinach and salads:

food.gov.uk/research/resear...

[Zest]

Hi Hidden

Thanks for sharing this information. Rocket is one of my favourite salad leaves, but I don't have it all that often. I hope to look at the article properly later, as I am limited for time just now.

Zest

[Hidden in reply to Zest]

I like rocket Zest so was interested to read this.

Jerry 😊

[Fran182716 Prediabetic]

I’m not keen on rocket but I do eat lot of spinach, it’s worrying.

[Hidden]

Unfortunately it's British grown that is the worst affected too so we do need to change to sustainable farming methods and as you say you're lucky you can get organic rocket.

[ChubbieChops]

Thanks for that - poo! I love rocket and spinach 🥺

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

Me too...

[Hidden]

Hi Jerry

Thank you for posting. Although I do not like Rocket I do like spinach so I'm glad they are acting on this although when I have spinach I tend to put it in curries etc at the very end of cooking rather than eat it raw.

Alicia

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I heard it on the news this morning and just think what have we done...🤢

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Quite agree, there always seems to be something. My comment is leave our food alone and let it grow naturally.😣

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hey it sounds so easy doesn't it Alicia.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Yes it does. I watched Cowspiracy a few weeks back and the last part of the programme focussed on a fruit and vegetable farmer who used wood chippings as fertiliser and the natural insects to eat the pests, in other words, the food chain. He didn't use any pesticides at all, just nature. He said at the end that he has been making a very healthy profit. If one can do this successfully then why can't others!

I rest my case.

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star]

Just seen this, shocking isnt it? No wonder we are so poorly. Spinach and Rocket are supposed to be healthy. I went off salad when a friend of mine informed me that prepacked salads are washed in bleach

[Hidden in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

Hi Debs, washed salads have 19 times the amount of chlorine than is permitted in a swimming pool and supermarkets response is: "Our customers want a disinfected product"

So I had disinfected toxic salad with chips...🤢 The chips were healthy LOL...

[Fran182716 Prediabetic in reply to Hidden]

I stopped buying washed salads because of this, and to avoid waste as you have to eat a huge bag within 24 hours, but I buy unwashed bagged spinach most weeks and thought I was safe by giving it a good wash when I was ready to use it ☹️. Sometimes the organic is available but not all the time and it can be more expensive.

[Hidden in reply to Fran182716]

I know Fran and we have to make the best choices that we can and organic is well worth buying when we can and it is more expensive.

Jerry. 😊

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to Hidden]

Its a crazy world we live in. 19 times the about - thats madness. The healthy stuff is looking worse for you than the unhealthy stuff.

If we buy organic would that still contain bleach?

[Hidden in reply to Kitten-whiskers]

Hi Debs I believe that its only supermarket washed salads from many countries.

I didn't mean to worry you I'm just a great believer in us knowing what we are really eating.

Organic is best. 😊

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star in reply to Hidden]

I'm not worried Jerry, your right it is so important that we know what we are eating

[kitchengardener2]

Guess we should be ok with our homegrown spinach. We don't eat much rocket but do buy other greens in winter. We tend to just drop the leaves into boiling water or steam. We love spinach and have it regularly for breakfast with poached eggs. Try to eat it fir the added iron.

[Hidden in reply to kitchengardener2]

Homegrown is best kitchengardener2 so good for you and we shouldn't be worrying about toxins in our food especially toxins that kill bees and have an adverse effect on our environment, it seems we've got our priorities wrong...

Jerry. 😊

[Georgianwalker]

So the advice would be not to cook salad leaves.

Joking aside, there are pizzas that have rocket leaves on them.

[MTCee]

It’s easy to grow your own rocket ☺️

[Fran182716 Prediabetic]

Just been reading about spinach and it appears freezing reduces nitrates being turned into the more harmful nitrites, though levels would depend on the growing conditions of the spinach. Apparently the nitrites will rise if allowed to thaw at room temp. So if you are going to cook the spinach and can’t find/afford organic, possibly frozen would be a better bet and cook straight from the freezer?

[Hidden in reply to Fran182716]

Hey this is a great tip Fran, thank you. 😊

[Subtle_badger]

"There is a warning from the FSA that some Rocket spinach and salad products contain nitrates from fertilisers that exceed safe levels which can be carcinogenic."

Is there? There is nothing about this on the FSA website. The only thing in the last 12 months I could find mentioning rocket is this:

food.gov.uk/news-alerts/con...

which is announcing a consultation, and no warning at all.

The Daily Mail is not really a newspaper in the traditional sense, it's a clickbait mill. Anything found on that site should be verified before sharing.

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

Hi I read it here as well:

perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/f...

[Subtle_badger in reply to Hidden]

So you have from the DM and now an obscure tabloid from Australia's 4th largest city. That's quite likely source from the DM too.

Just to be clear, I assumed it was true when read your post, I just wanted to confirm it with the FSA or a more reliable authority. I can't.

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

Here's the FSA information on this.

Please see:

food.gov.uk/research/resear...

[Subtle_badger in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Hidden]

I love curly kale too. 😊

[Penel]

A slightly different view from the BBC, hopefully reasonably accurate, perhaps not as sensational as the DM.

bbc.com/future/article/2019...

Their conclusion is that although there is a slight increase in the health risk from eating the nitrates/nitrites processed meat, this does not appear to apply to vegetables. The nitrites in veg like rocket have been linked to reducing high blood pressure, which is good for you.

As ever, the problem is associated with the dose. The FSA has been monitoring levels over many years.

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Penel]

I remember this one being shared around the time. If I recall rightly, the Nitrate issue mostly boiled down to the chemical compound becoming unstable at high heats. The argument for it being bad in meat and not veg, mostly boiled down to: meat is normally cooked, whilst veg can be eaten raw.

I think in Jerry's article, the complaint is about chemicals/fertilisers, more than it is about naturally occurring compounds in the foods themselves. The Daily Mail does need to put their own trademark spin on it though

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Cooper27]

Yes, this is a good point, Cooper27 . Sometimes, vegetables have to be cooked-- or eaten raw. The meat and fish items always have to be cooked or it can cause to food poisoning. The exception to the fish being cooked is when having tuna salad!

[Penel in reply to Cooper27]

Unfortunately I fear that the DM article has now made people think that eating rocket is a dangerous thing to do. If one in ten samples are over the limit, it means that nine in ten are not.

[lfn1]

Thanks for the heads up! Your research tips an important area we should simply be aware of. The last thing we healthy eaters could do is put our head in the sand. Food standards are changing constantly in our fast moving world. We must remain alert to these critical changes. For warned...

[SillySeabird]

I am concerned that so many posts on this Forum reference articles from general press sources - The Daily Mail, in particular - whose reporting is simplistic, attention grabbing and frequently has internal consistencies. This headline on nitrates in rocket, for example was addressed by James Wong in the New Scientist 19 March 2019 where he looks at this issue from various angles and, in short, no link between nitrates consumption and gastric cancer has been found. DM stories may not be wrong - it’s great to debunk the exploitative so-called healthy foods market etc’ - but never take them at face value. Always check a more rigorous scientific source. Papers only want to sell papers - and have no interest in the quality of evidence.

[Hidden in reply to SillySeabird]

Hello SillySeabird the article was from the FSA so didn’t originate in the Daily mail which's not my favourite rag as they seem more interested in models pert derrière! I think the more aware of what we are really eating is paramount.